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What does CPA stand for?

by Kate Davies
22 replies
Sorry, folks. I know that must be a really dumb question and when I get the answer I'll probably say "Oh yes, of course", but I keep seeing CPA referred to in posts and I don't think I know what it stands for.

Cheers
#cpa #stand
  • Profile picture of the author Vanquish
    There are no dumb questions...

    CPA stands for Cost Per Action
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    Nothing to sell, only value to give and new knowledge to learn.
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    • Profile picture of the author Kate Davies
      Thank you Vanquish.

      I didn't say to myself "Oh yes, of course" afterall. Now I know what the letters stand for, I'm not quite sure I have managed to put it in to context yet. Hopefully it will make more sense next time I see it in a post.

      Is that a 'cost' to the website owner? Kind of like Pay Per Click, where it costs you money if someone just click through to your site regardless of whether they buy something or not?

      Kate
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      Local internet marketing in the UK
      Only the businesses who can be found online will succeed. Improve online visibility with www.vizzibiliti.co.uk
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      • Profile picture of the author mr2monster
        Originally Posted by digileaf View Post

        Thank you Vanquish.

        I didn't say to myself "Oh yes, of course" afterall. Now I know what the letters stand for, I'm not quite sure I have managed to put it in to context yet. Hopefully it will make more sense next time I see it in a post.

        Is that a 'cost' to the website owner? Kind of like Pay Per Click, where it costs you money if someone just click through to your site regardless of whether they buy something or not?

        Kate

        Yes, the cost is to the website owner.

        It's kind of confuzing because the term CPA is used on both the advertiser and publisher sides.

        CPA payouts are what affiliates make when they sign someone up
        CPA is the cost the the website owner pays out to affiliates when someone signs up.

        Same measurement.... different result depending on what side you're on.



        If you're not paying affiliates on a CPA basis, however, then CPA is simply [the cost of all of your advertising]/[number of leads generated] (or desired actions completed).



        Sorry if I made that overly complicated.
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        • Profile picture of the author Kate Davies
          Thank you Mr2monster. Not over-complicated at all. Exactly the right level of detail.

          Thanks

          Kate
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          Local internet marketing in the UK
          Only the businesses who can be found online will succeed. Improve online visibility with www.vizzibiliti.co.uk
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      • Profile picture of the author Edk
        Once I queried as forum on the meaning of an abbreviation. Someone told me then he added in his post "you shouldn't put questions like that on here". He wasn't being nasty, I think he was just embarrassed for me. So in future I just queried Google.
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        • Profile picture of the author Vikuna2009+
          Originally Posted by Edk View Post

          Once I queried as forum on the meaning of an abbreviation. Someone told me then he added in his post "you shouldn't put questions like that on here". He wasn't being nasty, I think he was just embarrassed for me. So in future I just queried Google.
          Wrong, by you doing so, we all learned and for that at least I thank you. We are here to learn and share what works and what does not.

          There is no wrong question!

          Have a great day, Eva :p
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          • Profile picture of the author A Bary
            Originally Posted by Vikuna2009+ View Post

            Wrong, by you doing so, we all learned and for that at least I thank you. We are here to learn and share what works and what does not.

            There is no wrong question!

            Have a great day, Eva :p
            'Who said there's no wrong question?

            There's a wrong question, that asked for something so obvious or can be answered by a little search instead of opening more and more useless threads.

            And there's a dumb question, that has no goal but open a meaningless conversation..

            I am not attacking the OP here, she was asking nicely, but I am just commenting on the idea of "there's no dump question"

            If you read the forum rules, you'll discover that there are dump questions, and they are not welcome..
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  • Profile picture of the author mr2monster
    CPA is Cost Per Action/Aquisition

    Essentially it's a measurement of the cost of a desired result.

    So, if you were a website owner and you wanted someone to fill out a lead form... and it took you 100 people to get 1 person to fill it out, and each of those 100 people cost $.10, your CPA would be $10.00.

    CPA marketing comes into play when site owners know their metrics (what it costs them to obtain a lead) and they want to either scale, or lower their cost, or both.

    It's the equivalent of switching from CPC (Cost per click, or PPC from an advertisers standpoint) to a CPM (Cost per 1000 views). If you pay .10 a click and you know you get a 10% conversion from those clicks, you can save money by buying a CPM campaign by doing the math (theoretically).

    The point is to try and break your costs down, or scale your campaigns up. Or both.

    So, in the instance from above, if a website owner knows that his average CPA (Cost per Action/Aquisition) is $10.00, (s)he would often times offer an affiliate $7.00 per lead (hypothetically) to cut his costs.

    This benefits the website owner by lowering his cost, and benefits the affiliate by offering a set amount for a lead instead of a per click basis.
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  • Profile picture of the author A Bary
    Originally Posted by digileaf View Post

    Sorry, folks. I know that must be a really dumb question and when I get the answer I'll probably say "Oh yes, of course", but I keep seeing CPA referred to in posts and I don't think I know what it stands for.

    Cheers
    Sorry, but there is a WHOLE SECTION on the forum devoted for CPA, if you just take the time to look at the board index you'll find an outstanding complete forum section covering this subject... you'll learn all what you need from there
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  • Profile picture of the author perfectblue
    CPA stand for Cost Per Action

    CPA had never worked for me...
    CPALead, Neverblueads, Adpinion, Prosperent nothing worked..

    I think i always will stick with CPM/ CPC
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    • Profile picture of the author A Bary
      Originally Posted by perfectblue View Post

      CPA stand for Cost Per Action

      CPA had never worked for me...
      CPALead, Neverblueads, Adpinion, Prosperent nothing worked..

      I think i always will stick with CPM/ CPC
      Welcome to the forum,

      If you're mixing CPA to CPM and CPC, then you need to read more before deciding CPA isn't working..because CPA and CPM/CPC are 2 different worlds..

      CPA, is a model of affiliate marketing, where you're being PAID for referring leads who perform a certain action (e.g. filling a form), it's an alternative for CPS or Cost Per Sale which is the other common affiliate model where you're get paid for completed sales..


      On the other hand, CPC/CPM (Cost Per Click/Cost Per Millenia or thousand) are advertising models where you are PAYING for the advertisement cost, either by paying a certain cost per single clicks (e.g. PPC like Google Adwords) or you're paying a specified amount for every thousand impressions your ad gets (banner advertising on BuySellAds or AdBrite)


      Wish the difference is clear for you now
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      • Profile picture of the author mr2monster
        Originally Posted by goldmind123 View Post

        Welcome to the forum,

        If you're mixing CPA to CPM and CPC, then you need to read more before deciding CPA isn't working..because CPA and CPM/CPC are 2 different worlds..

        CPA, is a model of affiliate marketing, where you're being PAID for referring leads who perform a certain action (e.g. filling a form), it's an alternative for CPS or Cost Per Sale which is the other common affiliate model where you're get paid for completed sales..


        On the other hand, CPC/CPM (Cost Per Click/Cost Per Millenia or thousand) are advertising models where you are PAYING for the advertisement cost, either by paying a certain cost per single clicks (e.g. PPC like Google Adwords) or you're paying a specified amount for every thousand impressions your ad gets (banner advertising on BuySellAds or AdBrite)


        Wish the difference is clear for you now
        That's only partially true.

        CPA is a measurement of the acquisition cost of a lead or sale. It can be applied to both site owners (when comparing to CPC and CPM advertising models) OR affiliates when comparing payouts and revenue models. It's measured on both sides of the coin.

        As a webmaster, I might strive for a CPA of $2.50 per lead no matter what form of advertising I use, OR pay affiliates $2.50 a lead RATHER than using a CPC method or a CPM.

        CPA is both a marketing strategy for a site owner, AND an affiliate revenue model. They go hand in hand.
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    • Profile picture of the author NewMediaKia
      Originally Posted by perfectblue View Post

      CPA stand for Cost Per Action

      CPA had never worked for me...
      CPALead, Neverblueads, Adpinion, Prosperent nothing worked..

      I think i always will stick with CPM/ CPC
      Do you believe it could be that your traffic wasn't a match for the advertiser? Or did the CPA not work across the board? I'm sure if that's the case, advertisers would conclude that your traffic is no good if you can't generate a lead or sale for them. Perhaps the creative sucked too though.
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  • Profile picture of the author JayXtreme
    Comprehensive Performance Assessment




    Jay
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    Bare Murkage.........

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    • Profile picture of the author dmac3296
      have been wondering the same thing for a long time now haha
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  • Profile picture of the author shopsheap
    Well thanx to all.. I know what CPA stands for and how its applied... YAY!!!
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  • Profile picture of the author rising_sun
    Banned
    Actuall CPA can be used for :
    -certified public accountant(in education)
    -cost per action (in business)
    -crop protection association (in farming)
    -chairman's program assessment (in military)

    There are many but I know about them.
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    • Profile picture of the author eugenedm
      Originally Posted by rising_sun View Post

      Actuall CPA can be used for :
      -certified public accountant(in education)
      -cost per action (in business)
      -crop protection association (in farming)
      -chairman's program assessment (in military)

      There are many but I know about them.
      Interesting answers. I only know two of them - CPA in IM and in education. For IM my definition of CPA is very basic - Online advertising payment platform in which payment is based on qualifying actions such as sign ups or sales.
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  • Profile picture of the author N1pp0N
    cpa stands for cost per action or lead
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  • Profile picture of the author JWImarketing
    In my book it is cost per aquisition.
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  • Profile picture of the author Lloyd Buchinski
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  • Profile picture of the author prasanth5
    Most affiliate programs that pay per lead are CPA programs. It is actually an enjoyable experience to earn from CPA programs but as some one said it is not very easy though.
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